Applicator for tubular bandage



July 22, 1958 B. D. PERDUE 2,84 ,1

APPLICATOR FOR TUBULAR BANDAGE Filed March 22,- 1954 United StatAPPLICATOR FOR TUBULAR BANDAGE Application March 22, 1954, Serial No.417,837

Claims. (Cl. 128-157) This invention relates to improvements in anapplicator for a tubular bandage and to a method of utilizing thatapplicator to apply the bandage, the invention being highly desirablefor the application of tubular surgical bandages to parts of the humanbody to cover various types of wounds, afflictions, or other injuriesand ailments, although the invention may have other uses and purposes aswill be apparent to one skilled in the art.

In the past, certain forms of applicators for the application of tubularbandages to parts of the body, particularly bodily appendages such asfingers, toes, and in larger sizes to arms, legs, and even thehead, havebeen developed. One form of such applicator is illustrated in the E. G.Hendrickson et a1. Patent No. 2,456,507, issued December 14, 1948, andthe instant invention is not only an improvement upon the type ofapplicator shown in that patent, but also an improvement upon the methodof applying a bandage with the use of an applicator set forth in thatpatent.

Applicators for applying tubular bandages are of a type which telescopeover the part of the body to which the bandage is being applied.Heretofore, applicators previously developed have proven objectionablein certain instances, owing to the fact that the applicator itself wouldcontact the portion of the body over which it was telescoped, and whilethe contact may have been strictly unintentional, nevertheless itfrequently. resulted in aggravation of the particular injury orafiliction being bandaged. The manner in which these formerly knowndevices were constructed rendered it extremely difficult at times toavoid direct contact between the applicator and the injured part of thebody.

With the foregoing in mind, it is an important object of the instantinvention to provide an applicator so consTr ucted that it is a simpleexpedient during use to avoid contact of the injured part of the body bythe applicator itself.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of anapplicator for applying a tubular bandage to a body part, whichapplicator is so constructed as to have an expandable or spreadable endportion which passes over the injured part of the body without contacttherewith.

Also an object of this invention is the provision of an applicator forapplying a tubular bandage to a part of the body, which applicatorcomprises a pair of elongated confronting shells, hingedly connected atan intermediate point, whereby the shells may be spread apart at the endportion telescoping over a part of the body, and thus avoid contact withthe body part.

It is a further feature of the invention to provide an applicator for atubular bandage, over which the bandage may be threaded, and theapplicator being so constructed as to be easily and readily expansibleinside the bandage, to avoid contact with the part of the body beingdressed by the bandage.

Another object of the instant invention is the provision atent O "ice ofa new and novel method of applying a tubular bandage to a body part withthe aid of an applicator.

Still a further object of the instant invention resides in the provisionof an applicator for applying a tubular bandage to a body part, theapplicator being so constructed as to pass over the injured part of thebody without contact therewith, and being adjustable to increase ordecrease both the initial spacing and possible spread so as to readilyaccommodate body parts of ditferent sizes.

While some of the more salient features, characteristics and advantagesof the instant invention have been above pointed out, others will becomeapparent from the following disclosures, taken in conjunction with theaccompany- I ing drawing, in which Figure 1 is a side elevational veiwof an applicator embodying principles of the instant invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view of a tubular bandage with which the applicatormay be used;

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view through the bandage;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary elevational view illustrating the first stepin the application of the bandage to a part of the body; I

Figure 5 is a fragmentary elevational view illustrating a succeedingstep in the application of the bandage;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary elevational view illustrating a still furtherstep in the application of the bandage;

Figure 7 is an elevational view of the finished bandage upon the bodypart; and

Figure 8 is a fragmentary side elevational view of an applicatorembodying principles of the instant invention, but showing a slightlydifferent form of construction.

As shown on the drawings:

For purposes of clarity and convenience, the instant invention will bedescribed herein in connection with the application of a tubular bandageto a finger, although it will be understood that the same invention andthe same method, with larger apparatus, may be employed for theapplication of the bandage to a foot, leg, hand, arm, and even otherportions of the human body.

In the illustrated embodiment of the instant invention, with referenceto Fig. 1, it will be seen that the applicator includes a pair ofelongated confronting shells 1 and 2. These shells are laterally arcuateor concavo-convex in shape, and the concave faces confront each other.Intermediate the ends thereof, the shell 1 is provided with opposedinwardly extending ears or lugs 3 and 4, and the shell 2 is providedwith a pair of similar lugs or cars 5 and 6. The ears 3 and 4 extendinto overlapping engagement with the ears 5 and 6, and each pair ofoverlapping ears is hingedly connected together by a hinge rivet 7extending through the overlapping portions, or in an equivalent manner.The hinge rivets 77 are preferably as flat as possible on the inside sothat the part of the body over which the applicator telescopes nevercomes in contact with the hinge rivets or the respective ears.

With this arrangement, it will be seenvthat the applicator, in effect,provides a tubular structure with open side portions for easytelescopingv over the part of the body to which the bandage is to beapplied. Preferably, at its leading end the shell 1 is tapered and isprovided with an inward offset extension on opposite sides thereof, asindicated at 8 and 9, and the shell 2 is tapered and is provided withsimilar inward offset extensions lit and 11. These extensions are notarranged for overlapping relationship, but the extensions 8 and 9 willabut the extensions 10 and 11, respectively, if the leading end of theapplicator is closed to that extent. Thus, the extensions prevent toogreat a closing of the applicator and also provided a more completecontact of the applicator with a tubular bandage threaded thereover, sothat the bandage is not unduly distorted by stretching as a result ofspreading the shells 1 and 2 at the leading end;

Obviously, in use, compression of the shells at the rear end of thedevice results in a spreading of the shells at the leading end of thedevice, and vice versa.

The bandage itself is illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, and comprises atubular element 12 preferably made'of a gauze-like material, inherentlystretchable and elastic to a material extent.

In the use ofthe invention, a section of bandage 12, substantially twiceas long as the part of the body to=be covered, is taken and threadedover the leading end of the applicator as seen in Fig. 4. The rearportions-of the shells 1 and 2 are then compressed, thus spreading theforward ends of these shells inside the bandage, stretching the bandageproportionally. The leading'end of the applicator is then passed over apart of the body, such as a finger 13 without the shells coming incontact with the finger. The end of the bandage is slipped off theapplicator, and held in place at the rear portion of the finger, andthen the applicator is withdrawn beyond the end of the finger to theposition seen in Fig. 5, and the bandage is pulled or stretched bydrawing on the applicator, so as to insure a tight bandage around thefinger. The applicator is then preferably turned so as to provide atwist 14 in the bandage beyond the end of the finger, and then theapplicator is moved back over the finger, still without contacting thefinger, to substantially the position seen in Fig. 6. This movementcauses :a retroverting of that portion of the bandage still on theapplicator over the portion of the bandage already applied to thefinger. When the applicator is fully returned over the finger until allof the bandage is stripped from it, the applicator may be removed, andthe finger will be bandaged as indicated in Fig. 7. If there is a fullturn of the applicator made to provide the twist 14, the end of theresultant double layer bandage will be closed as indicated at 15 in Fig.7.

Stretching of the bandage the first time the applicator is withdrawnfrom the finger is not absolutely essential, since in most cases thebandage will contract into intimate contact with the finger, but such astretching operation does insure the bandage being tight around thefinger.

In this same regard, it will be noted that if during the returnmovement, or the retroverting operation, the applicator is turned duringthe movement over the finger a tension is given to the second layer ofbandage by that turning. In this manner, the ultimate tightness of thebandage may be eltectively governed.

In Fig. 8 I have illustrated a slightly different form of the instantinvention, and wherein the spacing between the shells 1 and 2 maybeinitially selected, so that the distance between these shells may beselectively varied in order to fit body parts of difierent sizes. Forexample, if the device is sized in general for application of a tubularbandage to a finger, it is well known that with different patients thesizes of fingers vary considerably, and so with the structure shown inFig. 8 the shells may be set closer together or farther apart asoccasion may demand.

In this arrangement, the same shells are disclosed, with the same ears 3and 4 onthe shell 1, and 5 and 6 on the shell 2, in overlappingrelationship. However, one of the shells, and in the illustratedinstance it is the shell 1, is provided with an opening of the generalcharacter of a figure 8, as indicated at 16, through whichthe shank 17of a pivot rivet 7a extends. It will be noted that the shank isflattened on opposed sides so thatitis not perfectly round, but whendisposed in a certain location will pass through the neck portion of thefigure 8 opening 16, so that either circular portion of that opening maybe engaged around the rivet, one rounded portion of the openingproviding a greater spread between the shells 1 and 2 than the other.The same is true with the ears 4 and 6 on the opposite side ofthestructure. Thus, with a slip-joint pivot connection of thischaracter,

4 the spacing between the shells may be selectively varied -at will.

It will be seen that the applicator is very simple in construction,highly durable, easily manipulated, since the leading end may becompressed while threading on the bandage, and then expanded after thebandage is on for application to the finger. Thus, if reasonable care isutilized there is no need for the applicator to intentionally oraccidentally contact the finger at any time during the application ofthe bandage. Also, the applicator'rnay be readily adjusted toaccommodate body parts of different sizes within a moderate range. Bythe new method herein involved, it is a simpleexpedient to apply thebandage under varying degrees of tightness.

It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effectedWithout departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the presentinvention.

I claim as my invention:

1. An applicator for applying a tubular bandage to a part of the body,comprising a pair of elongated confronting shells, means hingedlyconnecting said shells intermediate of their ends, said shells eachhaving a tapered terminal at one end thereof to provide clearance formanually gripping the tubular bandage when applying the same to the bodypart and with the terminals joined with inwardly offset extensions onthe sides of each shell to increase the bandage gripping area tominimize distortion thereof.

2. An applicator for applying a tubular bandage to a part of the body,comprising a pair of elongated generally parallelly extendingconfronting shells each being of a substantially uniform cross-sectionalong its length and defining channel segments and together forming anuninterrupted channel extending the length of the shells for telescopingcooperation with a body part, ears intermediately located on oppositesides of the channel With the ears lapped, hinge means connecting eachof the lapped ears together on opposite sides of the uninterruptedchannel and with said shells being otherwise spaced from one anotherexcept at the locale Where the lapped ears are connected and said shellsalso being generally in parallel relation along the length thereof andon opposite sides of the extensions, said shells being rockable on saidhinge means to move said shells into and out of parallel relation tovary the width of the channel to accommodate body parts having variablethicknesses and said shells having along the lengths thereof laterallyoutwardly arched inside and outside peripheral surfaces each extendingalong the length of each of said shells for close cooperaion with thetubular, bandage and with the body part.

3. The applicator of claim 2 further characaterized by the shells at oneend having rearwardly tapered terminals providing clearance for holdingthe bandage against the body part in its application thereto, saidshells also having otfset extensions adjacent the tapered terminals forincreasing the bandage gripping area to minimize distortion thereof.

4-. The applicator of claim 2 further characterized by each of saidhingedly connected lapped ears having slip joint means enablingadjustment of the channel width to accommodate body parts havingvariable thicknesses.

5. In an applicator for applying a tubular bandage of guaze-likeinherently elastic and stretchable material about an elongated part ofthe body, a pair of elongated generally complementary coactiveapplicator shell members intermediately pivotally connected and havingnormally spaced apart rear portions arranged to be manipulated towardone another and respective forward portions arranged to be spread apartas a result of movement of the rear portions toward oneanother, saidforward portions being of confronting channel-form crosssection'andproviding therebetween in the spread apart relationship agenerally-tubular clearance for receiving endwise therebetween and inspaced clearance relation an elongated body-member to be bandaged, saidforward portions being receptive thereabout of a tubular bandagecharacterized as aforesaid threaded thereover from the tips of saidforward portions and the spreading apart of said forward portions bycompressing of the rear portions toward one another stretching thebandage proportionally for telescoping over the member that is insertedfreely between the spread apart forward portions, said forward portionshaving thereon side structure to increase the bandage gripping area andthus assure proper spreading of the tubular bandage for free telescopicreception of the body member, the applicator being adapted to bewithdrawn relative to the body member while the end of the tubularbandage is held in place about the body member after being slipped offof the ends of said forward portions and the bandage being grippinglytensionable about the body member by drawing on the applicator duringwithdrawal of the bandage onto the body member while maintaining thebandage spread apart ,by said compresbandage in place on the bodymember.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,681,662 Douglass Aug. 21, 1928 1,992,344 Alhadate Feb. 26, 19352,005,723 Munn June 25, 1935 2,444,672 Prather July 6, 1948 2,456,507Hendrickson et a1 Dec. 14, 1948

